The Rikkai Love Potion Epidemic
by Knis
Summary: Yanagi creates a love potion and chaos falls upon Rikkai. (Shonen-ai warning)


**_The Rikkai Love Potion Epidemic_, or Yet Another Fic Where Yanagi Joins Inui's Dangerous Juice-Making Hobby And Weird Things Happen.**

**Disclaimer: Konomi-sensei owns the prince of tennis.**

**Warnings:_ Shounen-ai_ (awkward teenage boys kissing hurrhurr). Really uncreative story and predictable plot, my failed attempt at humor, and the characters are probably ooc. No Yagyuus were harmed in the making of this fic.**

* * *

**~o~o~o~**

* * *

The Rikkai tennis team was quite happy for Yanagi. The data master had reunited with his childhood friend, Inui Sadaharu from Seigaku, and was a lot more cheerful than usual lately. The loss of such a good friend must have been very painful for Yanagi so it was good that their friendship was now mended.

However, there was one part of this friendship that the team wasn't too keen about.

Namely, it was the odd concoctions in the form of rather disgusting and potentially harmful juices that didn't take everyone's fancy. Yanagi had joined his good friend Inui in pursuing the not-so-great art of Making-the-Grossest-Drink-in-Existence. What was worse was that Yanagi wanted to add his own flair to the drinks and the results always involved:

1. The whole team falling unconscious in the middle of practice and then vomiting as soon as they woke up,

2. that one time when mushrooms began growing out of Kirihara's hair and oozing bumps marred Niou's face, and

3. this other time when the drinks resulted in a variety of accidental clones, height changes, decreasing everyone's age by five years and Marui swore he time travelled an hour into the future.

All in all, the tennis team was growing weary and no longer felt like being the unwilling recipients of Yanagi's strange experiments. As tennis practice was ending late that afternoon, the regulars all returned to the bench and wiped their sweaty brows with towels. They picked up their water bottles, unscrewing the lids and sniffing suspiciously at their contents. They were all far too paranoid to take a sip despite how quenched they were.

Well, all except for Yukimura. The captain took the bottle closest to him and drained it.

"What?" Yukimura asked the rest of his gawking team.

"Y-You're not fainting, captain?" said Kirihara.

Yukimura shrugged. The captain was the only one on the team who had yet to try one of Yanagi's concoctions. No one knew why but Yukimura had always managed to avoid it by being conveniently absent or too engaged in a match. Several times Yukimura had walked to practice only to find his whole team passed out on the ground.

"I'm sure you're all exaggerating," Yukimura said, waving it off. "Renji's drinks can't be _that_ bad."

"I didn't image those mushrooms on my body," said Kirihara.

"And remember that time I barked like a dog all day?" added Jackal.

Marui nodded furiously. "And that time I time travelled-"

"Oh my god Marui that didn't even happen. Time travelling is impossible," said Niou rolling his eyes. The rest of the team nodded in agreement.

"But it's true!"

"Oh, don't be such babies," said Yukimura. "Sanada didn't faint yesterday. Isn't that right, Sanada?"

Sanada blanched at the thought. "A-Ah," he grunted. Just the thought of that bitter, scalding liquid running down his throat as his mind fought desperately against the darkness that threatened to overcome him was making him tremble.

"Regardless, I doubt Yanagi-kun has meddled with our drinks today seeing as Yukimura-kun is completely fine," said Yagyuu.

"Where is Yanagi anyways?" asked Marui suddenly. Everyone shrugged. Apparently the data master had gone to the bathroom. He couldn't have gone far since his bag was still there.

Speaking of which, Niou was approaching Yanagi's bag with an unsettling smirk on his lips.

"You think you're so tough, captain," said Niou as he rummaged through Yanagi's things, "but I bet you can't even take a sip of Yanagi's potion crap without passing out."

"Watch those words," said Yukimura warningly.

"Yukimura-" And there was Sanada trying to tell Yukimura that this was a very bad idea. Yukimura quickly shushed him.

Niou found a clear bottle of liquid and pulled it out. The liquid was unlike any they had seen before: It was strikingly pink and bubbling, not the brown or yellow sludge they were used to. The trickster tossed the bottle over to Yukimura.

"Prove us wrong then, captain," said Niou with a shit-eating grin.

Part of Yukimura knew he was probably falling for a trick, but his pride wasn't about to let him back down so easily. If Sanada had survived it then dammit, so could he!

Yukimura unstopped the cap. He hesitated for a second before bringing the bottle to his lips, smelling something sweet emitting from it. The pink liquid coursed into his mouth, a small sip at first and then turning into a mouthful. He swallowed it.

The whole team stared.

Yukimura cocked his head to the side. It wasn't that bad. It smelled a bit flowery. The drink had finished running down his throat by now. He was beginning to feel a bit warm…

Too warm in fact.

His throat was suddenly burning and-

Oh.

Oh_ shit_.

Yukimura had half a second to curse himself for being stupid for not taking Sanada's warning seriously before the feeling of his skin being dipped in molten lava overcame all his thoughts.

Everything went black. He heard someone shout "_Yukimura_!" right before he passed out.

* * *

Sanada was sure he had never hit anyone so hard in his life. Niou had a palm-shaped red mark on his cheek that would probably last him a couple of days.

Or at least Sanada hoped it would last that long. If it didn't, then he had no qualms about slapping Niou again.

Sanada had managed to catch Yukimura before the captain hit the ground when he fainted. Sanada was still jittery even now that Yukimura was safely in the infirmary and away from tricksters and homicidal juices. The nurse told him that Yukimura appeared completely fine (though the nurse was tired of having the tennis team come to her office every day and scolded Sanada for it like it was his fault), but Sanada was staying by Yukimura's side to keep a close eye on him in case tentacles started sprouting out of his arms... or something weird like that. With Yanagi's potion, one could never be too careful.

Once in a while Yukimura's eyelids twitched but it still took a while before Yukimura fully opened his eyes.

Sanada immediately jumped into Yukimura's vision, concerned etched all over his face. He silently prayed Yukimura wouldn't turn blue or start meowing.

Instead, something even stranger happened.

Yukimura _blushed_.

At first Sanada wondered if Yukimura's cheeks had turned red in anger or embarrassment, but that didn't seem likely, especially not combined with the soft, vulnerable expression painted into his eyes.

The captain stood motionless for only a few seconds and then seemed to regain his senses. He shook his head, groaning as if in pain, gently touching a hand to his forehead.

"What happened?" Yukimura asked.

"You fainted," said Sanada. "You drank one of Renji's juices, remember? Don't worry, I already gave Niou his laps."

"Ah, right... T-Thank you."

Yukimura stared at him. Sanada acknowledged the thanks with a nod, but that did nothing to avert Yukimura's gaze. When silence persisted, Sanada stood up and paced around the room, pretending to be interested in the multiple posters in the infirmary. Yukimura followed his every motion like it was the most interesting thing in the world. It was unnerving. Sanada could feel sweat rising on his brow.

Sanada breathed out a sigh of relief when Yanagi slid the infirmary door open and entered.

"Ah, Seiichi's awake. Good good," said Yanagi.

Sanada snarled, "No, not _good_. He fainted because of the weird juices you keep on making. You need to stop."

"Calm down, Genichirou," said Yanagi. "I do not make anything that is life-threatening."

Sanada grumbled to himself, hating how Yanagi was talking to him like he was the one overreacting. He looked back and saw that Yukimura was still very much focused on him. He swallowed nervously.

"Uh, Renji, can you check to see if Yukimura's okay?" asked Sanada. He wasn't quite sure what it was but something was definitely off about his captain. The bluenette was acting very… subdued. Normally Yukimura would have sent out punishment laps to Yanagi as well.

"What's wrong with him?" asked Yanagi, concerned.

"I'm not sure," whispered Sanada, hoping Yukimura wouldn't overhear. He sneaked a look back at his captain for a split-second. "He just keeps on staring at me and hasn't said much since he woke up."

"Which juice did he drink?"

"The bright pink one."

Yanagi stopped. For a second it looked like he wanted to laugh.

"Oh dear," was all the data master said.

"What?" said Sanada. "Is it bad?"

"Well… I suppose it depends on the way you look at it," said Yanagi. "And I suppose you were the first thing Seiichi saw when he woke up?"

"Wha—I guess, but what does that have to do with this?"

"That drink was kind of a… love potion," said Yanagi.

There was a pause.

"What?" said Sanada, deadpanned.

"A love potion, known to cause heavy infatuation towards another person. Its side-effects include physical attraction, desire, constantly thinking about the other person, always wanting to be in the person's presence, and-"

"I get it, I get it!" Sanada shook his head in disbelief. "You mean to tell me that… Yukimura drank some love potion and now he's in l-love with…" Sanada couldn't even finish his sentence.

"With you, yes," said Yanagi.

"B-But that's… Yukimura can't be in love with me!" Sanada shouted out much louder than he had intended, his whole face turning very red when he remembered that Yukimura was lying on the bed right behind them and had most definitely heard Sanada's exclamation.

That was the most excitement Sanada could take for a single day. Sanada ended up muttering some excuse about needing to get home in time for supper and left as fast as his legs could carry him. The last thing Sanada wanted to do was be in the same room when Yanagi explained to Yukimura that he had consumed a love potion.

* * *

Sanada spent most of that night awake, dreading practice for the first time in his life.

Morning tennis practice was bound to be uncomfortable. Sanada wondered how he was supposed to act around Yukimura now, but mostly he wondered how Yukimura would be like around him now that he was in… _love_.

However, when practice started the following morning, Sanada found that most of his worries were unfounded.

Either Yukimura was a very good actor or this so-called love potion wasn't as strong as Yanagi made it out to be. Sanada found very little difference with Yukimura. They greeted each other the same way they always did and then went to tennis practice as usual. No one suspected a thing. Even Sanada wondered for a second if it had all been a prank or a bad dream.

The only hints that suggested otherwise were very subtle one. Sanada couldn't help but notice how Yukimura's eyes were following him everywhere, staring at him as intently as they had yesterday. Sanada didn't bring it to attention and no one commented on it, but it did distract him somewhat during the practice. If possible, Sanada wanted to completely forget about this whole situation and pretend it had never happened. Yanagi would make an antidote and things would be back to normal soon enough.

Despite Sanada going out of his way to avoid any sort of contact with Yukimura, it was the captain who ended up talking to him first.

"I saw your game, Sanada," said Yukimura after practice was over.

"A-Ah…" Sanada replied.

"It was not your best. Your footwork still needs improvement and you missed a lot of easy shots," said Yukimura. "You better step up. You know losing is not an option."

Frowning, Sanada wondered once again if Yukimura really was under the influence of a love potion. It certainly didn't seem that way; Yukimura was speaking to him very normally. Maybe the juice had worn off overnight…?

In the showers, Sanada mauled the situation over in his mind as the cool water swept the sweat off his body. He washed quickly and shut off the water, exiting the showers with a towel around his waist. He was still deep in thought when he heard a gasp.

Yukimura was there, ready to enter the showers just as Sanada walked out. The captain was frozen stiff, staring at the vice-captain like he was infuriated at what he was seeing. Yukimura's whole face turned red and then he turned around and walked away quicker than Sanada thought was possible.

Yukimura ran to the supply closet, walked in and didn't come back out.

There was a pause as the whole team stood there, wondering what had just happened.

"What did you do to make the captain angry, Sanada?" asked Marui.

"I didn't do anything," said Sanada. He changed into his school uniform, feeling very troubled as he did so.

"Genichirou." Yanagi was suddenly there, leaning in to whisper to him. "Don't make it more difficult for Seiichi. Please try to be more considerate next time."

"But I didn't do anything," hissed Sanada. He put his school uniform and cap on, wanting to leave quickly before Yukimura re-emerged from the closet.

* * *

"So did you and captain have a fight or something?" asked Niou.

Sanada chewed his rice very slowly. "No. Mind your own business, Niou," he said.

Niou hummed and looked back behind him to the other table where Yukimura, Kirihara and Yanagi were sitting together.

"It's rare to see you and Yukimura-kun sitting apart at lunch, Sanada-kun," said Yagyuu.

Sanada shrugged. He really did not want to think about this, much less talk about it. This separate seating arrangement was a lot better given the current circumstances.

"Did he confess to you or something?" asked Niou. "He keeps on giving you googly eyes. You didn't reject him, did you?"

"No!" exclaimed Sanada, slamming his hand down on the table. "Stop making up stories. Nothing like that happened. We're just sitting at different tables at lunch. There is nothing wrong with it! It is a perfectly normal and civilized thing to do and nothing is wrong!"

His little outburst seemed to confirm Niou's suspicions. The trickster's smile widened and Sanada wanted to grab his lunch tray and move to a different table before he ended up saying even more stupid things.

"I think what Niou-kun is trying to say is that Yukimura-kun has been staring at you quite often today," said Yagyuu. "Therefore, it's only logical to assume that something must have happened recently to cause it."

Sanada gulped. It didn't take a genius to realize that Yukimura's behaviour had started just this morning and that the only thing that had happened recently that may have caused it was the potion from yesterday. Yagyuu seemed to read his mind.

"Speaking of which, was Yukimura-kun fine after drinking Yanagi-kun's juice yesterday?" asked Yagyuu. "I don't recall hearing anything about negative side-effects like the rest of us had."

Oh crap.

"Everything is completely fine so stop asking questions!" said Sanada, flustered and desperately wishing they would let him eat in peace.

It was at that moment that the pieces seemed to click together in Niou's head. Niou looked at Yukimura, then back at Sanada. The trickster's lips curved up in a mischievous, I-know-all-your-secrets way. Yagyuu also appeared to have realised it, his glasses turning opaque to hide his eyes so that it was impossible to read his expression.

"Ah, but our dear captain_ is_ acting strange," said Niou. "I wonder, if it is an effect of the juice he drank?"

Sanada blanched on the spot and quickly chose to remain silent. However, his silence did little good at this point. Sanada mentally cursed, giving himself a good number of laps for being so incompetent in keeping a secret.

"What's going on here?" asked Yukimura.

Sanada's heart sank, hearing the voice of his captain standing right behind him. He immediately began to sweat profusely.

"Nothing, captain," said Niou in a sing-song voice. "Sanada here was just telling us a fascinating story."

Yukimura narrowed his gaze, not buying the trickster's false innocence. "Don't bother him, Niou," he said warningly.

"Of course we won't, Yukimura-kun," said Yagyuu.

"By the way, which juice did you drink yesterday, captain?" said Niou. "It was the pink one, right?"

Yukimura frowned, looking over at Sanada for an explanation. Sanada swallowed thickly.

"I-I'm sorry, Yukimura," said Sanada, ashamed. "It's my fault. They know about the l-love potion."

"Oh, so it really was a love potion!" Niou exclaimed, far too loudly like he wanted the entire damn school to hear.

Niou was snickering and Sanada wanted nothing more than to slap his other cheek. Sanada was satisfied to see that the mark from yesterday's slap was still brightly displayed on Niou's left cheek.

"Sucks for you, Sanada. I mean, no offence captain, but having you as a boyfriend would really suck. I mean, just think of all the laps you'd get if you can't satisfy him in-"

"Out!" Sanada shouted, his own face growing very red. "I hate you, get out now or I'll give you so many laps that your legs will fall off!"

"Niou…" Yukimura said dangerously.

"So have you two eloped yet?" Niou asked.

The trickster did end up getting a second slap mark to match the one on his opposite cheek.

* * *

Sanada really should have warned Yanagi to hide his experimental fluids a little better, but honestly Sanada was far more preoccupied with other things during practice. He was determined to do his job as usual, which involved a lot of screaming at the lazy members who thought they could skip out on doing laps. Although he could feel Yukimura looking at him again, Sanada never looked back and was set on ignoring his captain for a lack of better solutions.

And so, Sanada didn't catch Niou when the trickster dug into Yanagi's bags and retrieved the infamous love potion, nor did he catch Yagyuu in the act of pouring a bit of it into Marui's sports drink.

Marui and Jackal were exhausted after their doubles match, especially since they had been playing against Yanagi and Kirihara. Marui retrieved his usual large stash of candy and even pulled out a piece of red velvet cake out of nowhere, handing it over to Jackal as he picked up his bottle for a sip.

Sanada saw the wide grin on Niou's face too late.

"_Marui, no!_" Sanada shouted. Too late, Marui had already swallowed a mouthful.

Marui paused, made a disgusted face and proceeded to faint.

The team gathered around and Niou was subjected to a third slap, one on his already stung cheek. The trickster howled in pain, clutching his cheek tightly. Sanada felt no remorse; Niou had to learn that poisoning fellow teammates was not acceptable at Rikkaidai.

"Is he dead?" Kirihara asked anxiously, bouncing around like this was the most exciting thing he had ever seen.

"Give him room," said Yanagi. "He's bound to wake up soon."

Yukimura was silent, either contemplating on how to murder Niou or wondering how Marui would react to the love potion.

Sure enough, it took only a few minutes before the redhead stirred, groaning as he clutched his head. "What happened?" Marui asked. Before anyone could reply, his head snapped up, looking directly up at Jackal.

The three demons and Niou held their breaths.

Marui reached up towards Jackal…

…and grabbed the plate of cake in his hands.

Marui's eyes filled with nothing but pure adoration as he looked at the slice of cake on his plate, smiling like it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Niou whistled. "So it does work," he said. "But uh… I thought he would fall in love with a person, not a desert."

Everyone looked over at Yanagi. The data master shrugged.

"The potion is still in the testing stage. I didn't know it was possible either," Yanagi said.

* * *

Sure enough, Yanagi soon confirmed that a good amount of his love potion supply was missing. The most likely explanation was that a certain trickster had helped himself to the potion and would most likely proceed to spread even more chaos around the school. Of course, no one had any proof, therefore Niou remained unconvicted.

In the end, the only further abnormality came two days later, when Yagyuu was found hiding behind a tree in the middle of practice.

"Ow! What did I do now?" cried out Niou when Sanada smacked him upside the head.

"You know what you did!" shouted Sanada, pointing over at Yagyuu. The gentleman was still hidden behind the branches, gazing over longingly at Yukimura. "You used the potion on him, didn't you!"

"Okay, in my defense, Yagyuu fell in love with the wrong person," said Niou. "I didn't know the captain arrived so early in the mornings and Yukimura got real concerned when he saw Yagyuu spontaneously fainting on the ground, so it wasn't really my fault."

That was the worst excuse Sanada had ever heard. He was about to say as such but then Kirihara accidentally hit a tennis ball dangerously close to where Marui's beloved slice of cake sat on the side bench.

"Look at what you almost did!" Marui cried out, angrier than Sanada had ever seen him. Marui immediately ran to his cake's side, checking if it was undamaged.

"Hey, it's your fault for just leaving your stupid cake there," said Kirihara.

"Don't call it stupid, you'll hurt it's feelings!"

As Marui and Kirihara fought over a slice of cake, Niou bolted out of Sanada's reach. Yagyuu grinned from behind his tree. When Sanada turned around, he found Yukimura smiling at him like there was absolutely nothing wrong in the world.

Sanada sighed, feeling a headache forming.

The normal Yukimura would have intimidated them all into running laps, but apparently that was not about to happen anytime soon. And so it was through several long minutes of shouting and dozens of slaps later that Sanada managed to beat some sense into his team. Unfortunately, his method took quite some time and practice ended only a few minutes afterwards.

What a waste of a perfectly good practice, thought Sanada as he showered afterwards, slamming his head against the wall.

* * *

Sanada hadn't really had a full conversation with Yukimura since the whole love potion incident had started.

Sanada knew he was avoiding his captain, but he continued to tell himself that it was for a good reason. Normally Sanada would stay after practice to devise new practice plans with his captain or walk part of the way home with Yukimura, but all of that had been put on hold as of late.

He supposed he was simply uncertain about how to act around his best friend without making it awkward for them both. Surely staying away would help Yukimura get over the effects faster, Sanada thought. Hopefully Yanagi would create an antidote and fast.

It wasn't only Yukimura... Yagyuu was really acting creepy, with the way he constantly asked Sanada questions about Yukimura during math class while they were supposed to be studying. Sanada had seen Yagyuu's notebook and Yukimura's name was written there one too many times.

'_Does Yukimura write my name all over his notebook too?_' Sanada wondered.

There was a sudden knock on his bedroom door.

"Genichirou, Yukimura-kun's here to see you," came his mother's voice.

Sanada jolted upright. Yukimura? Here? Right now, at his house, at this late hour? Had Yukimura forgotten something at practice? Surely not… Yukimura could have simply called him for that… So why was Yukimura here now? Did this have something to do with the potion?

Sanada sprinted down the stairs, worry getting the best of him. He opened the front door and sure enough, his captain was there.

Yukimura saw him and smiled the happiest, most relieved smile he had ever seen. Sanada cautiously stepped outside, closing the door behind him and trying to ignore how Yukimura was again giving him that adoring stare.

"Sorry for coming so late," said Yukimura apologetically.

"Ah… it's fine. I wasn't sleeping," said Sanada.

They paused. Yukimura stared, as silent as the night.

"Err… is there a reason why you're here?" Sanada asked.

Yukimura looked down sheepishly. "Actually… no," he said. He bit his lip. "I was restless and had trouble sleeping." Sanada stared back blankly, not understanding why Yukimura would come here if he couldn't sleep.

Yukimura continued, "I just couldn't stop thinking of you."

It was around that point that Sanada felt his brain stop functioning.

"Sorry, I know it sounds ridiculous, but I couldn't stay calm," said Yukimura. "I just really had to see you."

"O-Okay," Sanada said, not quite sure how he was supposed to reply to that. He suppose he should have expected it. Yanagi had listed many side effects of the love potion, and constantly thinking about the other person as well as wanting to be in their presence had both been mentioned. Sanada just hadn't expected a compulsion so strong that it would actually make his captain come all this way just to see him.

"I guess I should go and let you sleep now," said Yukimura. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Uh… yeah… tomorrow."

Yukimura stepped closer and raised a hand, then seemed to catch himself and think better of it. Yukimura shook his head and stiffly waved as he left.

* * *

"Vice-captain, why's everyone acting so weird lately?" asked Kirihara, nudging Sanada's elbow for the tenth time.

"No reason. Just make sure not to drink anything Niou gives you," said Sanada. The last thing he needed was Kirihara to fall victim to the love potion epidemic.

Tennis practice was not so much about tennis anymore as it was about Sanada yelling at everyone until they snapped out of their lovestruck dazes and then slapping them until they once again fell into a lovestruck daze. It was a vicious circle.

Niou was off poisoning some more helpless victims around the school, no doubt. Yagyuu was past the point of hiding and was standing very close to Yukimura with an umbrella to cover the both of them, though Yukimura appeared oblivious to Yagyuu's charity. The sight peeved Sanada a bit. Marui spent more time staring at his beloved red velvet cake than practicing so Sanada felt like slapping the damn cake to the floor and putting an end to it.

Then there was the Yukimura problem. Sanada swore the hairs on the back of his neck prickled every time Yukimura looked in his direction. It happened very frequently, making Sanada break out in cold sweat until he went off to scream at the team for slacking off. Still, compared to the others, Yukimura had a lot more self-control. Yukimura actually did try to practice most of the time.

"Sometimes it's just so hard," said Marui after practice as he stroked the side of the plate. "My cake looks so delicious. I love it, but sometimes I'm hungry and feel like eating it. I'm sure it would be the best tasting cake in the world."

"Not if it gets moldy first," said Yanagi. The death glare Marui gave him was enough to make him fall quiet.

Marui took his cake and stomped away. Yagyuu lingered in the locker room for a while but then Yukimura looked at him so he fled. The others were quick to disappear, none of them giving Sanada a hand with putting away the supplies. When he was done cleaning up, Sanada yawned and stretched his arms up, momentarily exposing part of his middrift. Sanada froze. Yukimura's eyes flashed down and glinted dangerously, slowly moving back up his body. Yukimura's hands turned into fists, shaking at his sides.

"Yukimura, are you um… feeling okay?" Sanada wasn't quite sure how to ask someone how they were holding up after taking a love potion.

Yukimura smiled. "I'm surviving," he said.

Okay, that was most definitely _not_ a good sign, thought Sanada with a frown. Yukimura was very strong and never liked to show weakness. Heck, Yukimura was the guy who lay in the hospital bed after surgery with tubes sticking out of his body and still insisted that he was feeling good enough to play tennis. For Yukimura to answer with "I'm surviving" could only mean that this was straining him beyond what Sanada could see.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" asked Sanada, taking a step back.

"I don't think it will make a difference," said Yukimura, a melancholic smile on his face as he picked up his bag and left.

* * *

"Lovely day, isn't it?" said Yagyuu idly.

_Whack._ The ball hit Yukimura's racket sharply.

"Great day for practicing, yes," replied Yukimura, panting as he ran after the ball and returned it so fast that Kirihara on the opposite side didn't get to it on time.

"Such a beautiful time of year, just as fair and lovely as you, captain," said Yagyuu.

_Whack._

"Shouldn't you be practicing, Yagyuu?"

"Of course, my captain, but first I was wondering…" Yagyuu took a deep breath, smiling courteously even though Yukimura's eyes were fully focused on the game he was playing. "Would you like to join me for dinner tonight?"

"Five games to zero, you better step up Akaya!" shouted Yukimura and served.

"Perhaps a little time alone," continued Yagyuu. "Or I know a lovely park to walk in, have picnic, watch the sunset…"

_Whac-_ "Oof!"

The ball, hit with Kirihara's scud serve, hit Yagyuu square on the forehead. The gentleman's glasses fell off as he plummeted to the ground, his head throbbing in pain.

"You really should get off the court while other people are playing, Yagyuu," said Yukimura. "Sixty laps." And then the captain went back to his game.

Yagyuu dusted himself off and grabbed his glasses, walking back to the rest of the team in defeat. A purple bruise was already forming on his forehead.

The team was all laughing. Apparently seeing Yagyuu getting injured was utterly hilarious.

"Nice try," said Niou. "If it's any condolences to you, I would have said yes. You should try again after the love potion's worn off."

Yagyuu resigned himself to return to his old strategy of staring at Yukimura from behind a tree.

* * *

The day soon came when the team returned to some semblance of normality. Sanada was relieved that everyone on the team was present for practice and all of them running laps for once. The lingering stares were still ever present, but they were interfering with practice this time. Even Marui had finally left his cake's side and took up a game with Jackal.

At long last, things were looking up for Sanada. Or so he thought, until he observed Yukimura's match and could immediately tell there was something very wrong with his captain.

Yukimura was edgy. No, edgy was an understatement. Yukimura was constantly moving, pacing restlessly, his hands always in motion and his expression showing only irritation. He missed more than one easy shot during his game against Yanagi, even failing on his serves a booming five times. Honestly, it was a surprise the captain managed to win at all.

Yukimura finished his match, took one look at Sanada and his whole body clenched tight. "I'm going to the bathroom," Yukimura murmured and rushed to the locker rooms so fast it was as if he were running away from a monster.

Sanada and Yanagi exchanged a look of concern. Sanada didn't need to be told; he rushed off after Yukimura, slamming the locker room door shut behind him. When he found Yukimura on the bench, crouched over in half, Sanada had a moment of panic, thinking that Yukimura's illness had returned.

Yukimura saw him approach and groaned, his breathing coming out in pants.

"Y-Yukimura…" Sanada felt helpless. "Is everything- I mean, are you…?"

"It's getting stronger…" whispered Yukimura through pale lips. He didn't look up at Sanada at all, knowing it wouldn't help his self control if he did. "This _need_."

Sanada wanted to step closer and assure Yukimura that everything would be fine, but he knew doing so would only make it worse. It seemed as if Yukimura was physically hurting. Sanada didn't want to take advantage of the bluenette in this state… but knowing he might have the power to temporarily sooth Yukimura's discomfort made him want to help.

"Yukimura…" Sanada began a bit awkwardly, still wondering if he should do this or not. "I… I don't want you to be in pain. If I can help you in any way…"

Yukimura shook his head frantically. "Don't," he gasped out. He hugged his knees tighter against his chest. "You have no idea… the things I've thought of doing."

Sanada swallowed thickly. It took him a few seconds to gather his courage to step forward and lightly touch Yukimura's stiff shoulder, feeling the bluenette's muscles tightening even more, so much that it had to be painful.

"I don't mind," said Sanada.

Yukimura's eyes were wide and disbelieving. "Do you even know what you're saying?" he asked roughly.

Sanada nodded. "Come here," he said and let his fingers touch part of Yukimura's wavy hair. Yukimura's body unstrung and the next movements happened so fast that they were like a blur.

There were lips on his, frantic and hot. Yukimura moaned like he had been longing to do this his whole life. Arms wrapped around Sanada's neck tightly and he let Yukimura pull them closer. The kiss deepened, Yukimura seeking more and more to taste. Sanada gave Yukimura his tongue and Yukimura sucked on it like it was the most delicious thing in the world. Yukimura seemed to melt into his arms, the captain's breath coming out in quick pants as they shared kiss after kiss, each more frantic than the last. Sanada found that he honestly did not mind because kissing Yukimura actually felt kind of good.

Sanada vaguely realized that Yukimura was trembling from it. "I-Is this… are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes," rasped Yukimura through swollen lips. His voice was rough right before he plundered Sanada's mouth once again. He stole the vice-captain's breath and Sanada took it back a second later, swiping his tongue along Yukimura's bottom lip.

"_Yes_," Yukimura whispered again.

* * *

Yesterday's good practice had apparently been a one time thing because the chaos returned the next morning.

Marui was crying hysterically and Sanada's slaps didn't help at all. Instead of practicing, the redhead curled up in the corner and a puddle of tears formed around him. The team gathered around Marui, prodding and poking him until Sanada threatened to give them all a hundred laps.

Only Marui didn't move, still crying by himself.

"What happened to him?" Yukimura asked, stepping close to Sanada.

Sanada flushed, taking a step back as he was immediately reminded of yesterday and of Yukimura's soft lips.

"He, uh, ate his cake," said Sanada lamely.

"You don't understand!" Marui suddenly cried out. "That slice of cake was the love of my life a-and I… I_ ate_ it. And now I'll never see it again." He choked out a sob again. "I'm the worst person in the world. I don't deserve to live."

Behind them, Niou was dying of laughter.

"Can't you just make another cake?" Sanada asked, scratching his head.

Marui's expression was incredulous. "Oh, sure, I'll just make another cake. It's no big deal right? Cakes are all the same!" he exclaimed. "I guess if you jumped off a roof and died, captain Yukimura would have no problem replacing you either, right? You're just any other vice-captain, right?!"

Sanada decided that he liked Marui a lot better when he wasn't drugged with a love vial.

So they all left Marui alone for the rest of the practice. Niou snickered every time he looked over at Marui and Kirihara occasionally stopped to poke Marui and check if he was still alive, but besides that things could have been worse. Yukimura appeared to be back to normal, his tennis back to its top skill. Yukimura won his match easily, but maybe that was just because his opponent was Yagyuu and the gentleman was having a hard time focusing on the ball when Yukimura was right in front of him.

When they were once again left alone in the locker rooms after the rest of the team had mysteriously vanished to avoid clean up, Sanada just had to ask.

"Um…" Sanada stood restlessly, shifting from one foot to the next.

Yukimura looked back at him. "Yes?"

"D-Do you feel okay today?" Sanada asked. "Do you need me to, um, help again?"

Yukimura's gaze softened. "Thank you for your concern. I'm feeling better today."

"Oh." Sanada realized that it was disappointment coming out of him.

Kissing Yukimura hadn't been bad at all. In fact, it had been pleasant. Sanada felt like he would have happily indulged Yukimura if his captain had asked for another kiss. "Okay then…" he said and turned back to his locker like there was something interesting inside it.

Yukimura paused, considering.

"Well, I suppose one wouldn't hurt," Yukimura answered, approaching.

Despite acting like he didn't need it, Yukimura's lips kissed Sanada's in a way that was entirely too eager and wanton. Sanada felt his stomach do a backflip. Yukimura's hand were on his shoulders, digging into his shirt. When they pulled apart, Sanada bit his tongue to stop himself from asking for another kiss. At the moment, Sanada felt like he was the one under some potion's influence for how fast his heart was beating.

Yukimura gave him a small, secret smile and then their lips met again. Sanada leaned in a little too much, unable to resist.

* * *

Yagyuu watched through the window of the locker rooms as Yukimura kissed Sanada.

A lone tear rolled down his cheek.

* * *

It was an entire week later when Yanagi was mysteriously absent from morning practice. Sanada hadn't thought much of it since Yagyuu and Marui had been absent on and off during the last week, both claiming they were both too heartbroken to play tennis. And even when they did show up, tears were their frequent companion. Sanada had been taking good care of his captain in the meantime. And by that, he meant very happily obliging Yukimura whenever his captain wanted to kiss him.

Still, Yanagi wasn't absent for very long that day. The data master showed up during the lunch break and called a team meeting on the roof.

"It took some time, but I finally have it," Yanagi announced, holding up a vial of bubbling purple. "The antidote."

The team looked at him doubtfully.

"Don't you all worry. It's perfectly safe; Sadaharu and I tested it ourselves. The only side effects are possible constipation," said Yanagi.

"Oh, so no side-effect for captain Yukimura," said Niou.

As soon as Yukimura was back to normal, Sanada just knew Niou would be given enough laps to last him through high school and maybe even college.

"Where's Yagyuu?" Sanada asked suddenly, not seeing the gentleman anywhere.

"He's been locked up in his room for the last two days," said Niou with a shrug. "He says he's too heart-broken to play tennis." He looked over at Yukimura, glaring. "You better take responsibility for this, captain."

"You're the one who slipped him the drink," Yukimura reminded Niou.

At least Marui was here today. The redhead looked a lot better than before. Though he appeared sad, he was not crying hysterically today.

"Do we really need it though?" Marui asked, looking doubtfully at Yanagi's purple concoction.

"What do you mean?" Yanagi asked.

"Well, the effects began wearing off for me," said Marui, scratching the back of his head. "I mean, I'm still a bit sad, but it's definitely going away." He looked over at Yukimura. "Captain, you took the potion before me, right? Isn't it wearing off for you too?"

Yukimura hesitated for a split-second, shooting a glance in Sanada's direction. "Mm, yes, well…" Yukimura laughed and he sounded almost nervous. "Yes, the potion's effects did wear off for me… that was two days ago, I think."

"You should have told me," said Yanagi, a little sad that his antidote was going unused. "At least we know the longevity of the love potion now. Yagyuu was the last one to receive it… perhaps he should get the cure seeing as he's still heartbroken."

Sanada felt like he couldn't breathe, watching Yukimura out of the corner of his eyes. The potion… it had worn off two days ago for his captain? But that was impossible. Just yesterday, he and Yukimura had…

Sanada flushed, remembering the way Yukimura had arched against him and whispered his name frantically.

The meeting was over and the team left the rooftop. All except for Sanada, who remained frozen on the spot, and Yukimura, his head turned away.

"I… haven't been entirely truthful," admitted Yukimura. "Forgive me, Sanada."

"Yu-Yukimura?" Sanada said.

"I'm sorry. I understand if you are mad. I was selfish and took advantage of your good intentions. I hope you can forgive me, Sanada," said Yukimura, biting his lip. "I should have told you, that the potion wore off."

Yukimura made as if to leave. Sanada reached out and grabbed the captain's wrist before he could even begin to properly formulate his thoughts.

"I-I didn't mind," said Sanada. "I didn't hate it or anything."

Yukimura's look could only be described as skeptical.

"K-Kissing you, I mean," Sanada scratched his head, feeling how red his ears were getting. "If you want to do it again, I wouldn't mind." He could hear his voice cracking and he was having an extraordinary hard time looking at Yukimura in the eye.

"I don't want to be a bother," said Yukimura, sounding pained. "I've inconvenienced you enough as it is." He turned his head away.

"Tarundoru!" It slipped out before Sanada could stop it. He couldn't help it. It had taken all of his courage to admit he hadn't hated the kissing and now Yukimura was just turning away as if he hadn't even spoken! Sanada's short-temper momentarily overrode his fear. "I said I liked kissing you!"

Yukimura stared at him as if Sanada had swallowed one of Yanagi's potions and turned into a giant raspberry. Yukimura opened his mouth to talk and then closed it again, a strong blush coming to his cheeks. He peeked up through thick lashes.

"Then, this is okay?" Yukimura asked and stood up on his tiptoes to press a chaste kiss on Sanada's mouth.

Sanada was fairly certain his head did resemble a raspberry now with how much he could feel his face heating up. He had kissed Yukimura a lot longer, deeper and much more passionately in the past, but knowing that there was no love potion hindering Yukimura's judgement this time made everything feel so much more real.

"Yeah," said Sanada and leaned down to show Yukimura that this was all far better than okay.

* * *

"Good thing Yanagi had an antidote, huh?" said Niou casually like he totally hadn't walked into Yagyuu's room a few minutes ago only to find Yagyuu neck deep in blankets and empty ice cream containers. There was also an alarming number of pictures of their captain adorning the wall, which Yagyuu was now working very hard at removing.

Yagyuu sighed, ripping a particularly large profile photograph of Yukimura in half. He never wanted to see Yukimura ever again. Facing his team tomorrow would be embarrassing at best.

The antidote had worked fast. Already the last remnants of affection he felt for his captain died away.

"Niou-kun, if you ever poison me again, I'll…!" There were so many threats running through Yagyuu's mind, each one crueller than the last, that it was hard to pinpoint a single one.

"You'll slap me with a glove like the good gentleman you are?" finished Niou.

Yagyuu stayed quiet this time. What Niou didn't know was that of the batch of love potion they had stolen ages ago, Yagyuu still had some of it in his possession.

Yagyuu showed Niou an innocent gentleman's smile and began plotting his revenge in careful calculated steps. He wondered how Niou would be like when the trickster became infatuated with their dear vice-captain. Yagyuu held in his chuckle.

He would laugh soon enough, and it would all be at Niou's expense.

* * *

**~o~o~o~**


End file.
